Little Brown Eyes
by Miriam Melody
Summary: Kurosaki Ichigo was 22 years old when he became a father. IR.
Their daughter was born early in the morning; just as tiny rays of sunlight were beginning to peak through the blinds in the private delivery room where Rukia had spent all 11 hours of labor and delivery. While it was not a particularly difficult delivery, it was her first one, and Rukia bit her lip and counted down and tried to breathe with every contraction that hit. Ichigo was too thankful once she finally had dilated enough and the elderly doctor Chiyo-sensei, who had been delivering babies for the past 700 years of her life, had administered the epidural that made Rukia completely numb from the waist down, making things much, much easier for her, and giving Ichigo peace of mind that at least, she wasn't in more pain.

When she was finally born, the nurses rushed in cleaning her little face and body and clearing her nose and her mouth as she was held by the doctor- Ichigo had been sitting on the edge of the bed on Rukia's left, as he had basically been her main support the entire time- wiping her face, talking gently to her, keeping her hand in his firm grip like an anchor- it almost hadn't occurred to him that once this ended he would in fact, be a father. And this realization didn't hit him- until she cried.

It was a tiny, itty-bitty, feeble little cry- not because she was unhealthy or anything of the sort- she was just small, barely reaching 6 lbs- "but completely healthy!" as Chiyo-sensei had said. And Ichigo, who had been completely focused on his wife, and his wife alone- turned sharply and looked up at the sound, as at the same time Chiyo-sensei calmly announced with a rather pleased expression, "It's a girl. And she's very pretty, just like her mother."

His grip on Rukia's hand tightened as a nurse moved over to Rukia's right side, carefully situating the teeny pink bundle in Rukia's waiting, outstretched arms- she gently pulled her hand from his. Ichigo was frozen as he watched his wife held their child for the very first time.

She wasn't quite crying anymore- but she was making tiny whimpering sounds- and something about it broke Ichigo's heart. He stared down at the baby, who already looked like she'd be the spitting image of Rukia- delicate, fairy-like features, large eyes, soft little wisps of black hair...

"She's beautiful," Rukia's voice was soft and a bit raspy from exhaustion as her head bent forward slightly, pressing an airy little kiss to the baby's forehead, "It seems she'll have curly hair, like her grandmother,"

Ichigo stared at her, his heart feeling warm and full to the brim at the sight of Rukia interacting with their daughter for the first time. It just seemed so natural and normal, Rukia was really perfectly suited to be a mother. She seemed to be literally glowing, even if she was exhausted, and the expression and love she had in her eyes as she looked down at her baby was one Ichigo was sure he'd never seen on her face before.

She looked to him then,, who was staring at her with the most shocked expression. "..Ichigo? You want to hold her, honey?"

Her soft, raspy voice brought him out of his stupor and he stared at his wife's large, jewel-like eyes and nodded dumbly, holding his arms out almost awkwardly, as if stunned that he was even allowed to do so. Rukia sat up slightly and passed the baby to him, pulling his arm back just a bit- he didn't really need much coaching, he'd held his sisters when they were babies enough times and could remember how to do it. It was at that moment that his daughter was settled into his arms that it hit him.

After 9 months of thinking, planning, daydreaming (yes, he'd done even that) and sticking 24/7 to Rukia's side (she'd gotten quite annoyed with him some of the times, but it couldn't be helped) about this moment, it was finally happening... the moment when he'd finally hold the child he and Rukia had created. To think that his wife had carried and quite literally _grown_ this tiny, perfect little doll- to think that she was half his blood. Ichigo stared down at his daughter, his eyebrows knitted lightly. His finger touched the her soft little cheek very, very lightly, and his eye flooded with tears.

Rukia, who had been watching her husband's expressions the moment she handed their baby to him- this was something she wanted a mental picture of- was only slightly surprised to see his eyes grow wet. She said nothing, deciding to let him have a moment as one escaped the corner of his eye, and then another. And another, until tears were _streaming_ down Ichigo's face and his chin trembled as he looked down at the baby peacefully asleep in his arms.

"S-She's so beautiful," Ichigo wept, moving his head back slightly so his tears wouldn't fall on the infant, "R-Rukia, _Rukia_ , I want to protect her from everything, I-I'd rather die than let her get hurt, she's more than I _dreamed_ of, she's- she's-" and his emotions got the better of him, rendering him unable to talk because he was sobbing too much.

Rukia reached over, slowly draping an arm around Ichigo's back, and she rested her cheek against his shoulder, reaching with her other hand and brushing away his tears. "Oh, Ichigo, don't cry baby, look at her. She's looking at you."

Indeed, the little one had opened her large eyes, and was looking up at her father, blinking and squinting, her eyes going in and out of focus. Ichigo stared down at her and Rukia reached, gently tickling the baby's chin as she cooed, "Do you recognize daddy? Hm? What else are you thinking about? Ohh.."

Ichigo hiccuped then- Rukia smiled lightly at it- and he commented with a breaking voice, "H-Her eyes.."

"Just like yours."

Yes. Soft, honey colored brown. Just like his. Ichigo pouted, "I.. I thought she'd have your eyes.. I love your eyes.. mine are boring."

"They're not boring at all. Your eyes are beautiful, I love them," Rukia replied softly, reaching up and gently running her fingers behind Ichigo's ear as if to tuck hair behind it. Ichigo stared at his daughter for a few more moments before looking over to Rukia with the most warm, heartfelt expression in his watery red eyes.

"Thank you." he said softly, and his eyes grew wetter as he spoke, "What you've done... it's something I can never repay you-"

"Don't talk about repaying me," Rukia replied softly, gently putting a hand over Ichigo's heart as she looked up into her husband's watery eyes, "Oh Ichigo, I would've _never_ had the courage or strength to go through with becoming a mother without you by my side these entire 9 months, I- you're the father to our _daughter-"_

 _"Thank you,"_ Ichigo said softly, and a tear escaped his eye, "For being my friend, my lover, my wife.. for being the mother of my child, Rukia... _thank you,"_

She reached up and wiped a tear from his face again and he leaned forward slightly, pressing a kiss to the side of her face.


End file.
